The 13th-century Gothic tower in the Grand Square is the only remnant of
Krakow's medieval town hall.

Krakow’s Local Government

Poland has three-tier local
government: province ‘wojewodztwo’, county ‘powiat’,
and commune ‘gmina’; each level with its own
representative council and an executive.
Krakow is the capital of the
Malopolska wojewodztwo, one of the most prominent
provinces among the country’s sixteen.

As in the case of other major Polish cities, Krakow’s local
government is county and commune rolled into one
municipality. The legislative City Council consists of 43
members chosen in popular ballot by way of proportional
representation. The executive power lies with mayor (called
‘prezydent’) elected by citizens in a two-tier majority
vote. Both the city council and the mayor serve five-year
terms.

The city's current powers

In 2002 Krakow's citizens chose Professor Jacek Majchrowski
as their first mayor ever voted in by popular ballot. In
November 2006, in December 2010, in November 2014, and
November 2018 they
elected him for his second, third, fourth, and fifth term in the office respectively.

Local elections on October 21st, 2018 have
produced majority in the City Council in Krakow
which consists of a coalition of the centrist Civic Platform party
(Platforma Obywatelska - PO) and center-left
Nowoczesna party plus supporters of the incumbent
mayor. It secured 23 seats in the 43-strong body.
Their main opponents, the right-wing Law and Justice
party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc – PiS) got 16
councilors, while the remaining four seats went to a failed
mayoral candidate and his three supporters.

The Krakow municipality has its headquarters in the city's
Old Town historic district, in the 16th-century Renaissance
Wielopolskich Palace, adjoining the basilica of St. Francis'.

Office address of the City President (mayor) as
well as the City Council is: 3/4 Wszystkich Swietych Pl. Postal address: Urzad Miasta Krakowa, Pl. Wszystkich
Swietych 3/4, 31-004 Krakow, Poland. Telephone number of the mayor's office is (+48)
126161398 and (+48) 126161350.
Mayor's email address is
Jacek.Majchrowski@um.krakow.pl